At the Latin America Lithium Prospects forum, Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy Franklin Molina noted that Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Mexico (the countries participating in the forum) have agreed to move the dialogue on lithium to an international level raise Congress of Presidents, which will be held this year.
He said countries are aware of the enormous challenges today that the new energy transition agenda towards renewable energy and electric mobility poses, but also of the central place that this energy transition holds in the growing geopolitical disputes that, unfortunately, are today the international determine relationships.
“Given the different historical experiences in each of the countries that hold important litiferous reserves, we may wonder in the future whether it is possible to design new sustainable extractive and productive systems today aimed at fulfilling our own transition plans. and under what social and economic, political and geopolitical, technological and socio-environmental conditions. To address these and other issues, we will host the ‘International Lithium Congress’, which will be held face-to-face and will be attended by the highest political authorities from Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Mexico,” the minister told a report to the press .
This Congress will also bring together the main leaders of the academic, professional and social organizational world from different disciplines, institutions and nationalities under the institutional auspices of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) and the United Nations Organization.
presentation
In his speech, Molina identified a common concern of the countries participating in the forum, “which is to ensure energy security and sustainability in order to have a reliable supply”.
“Our Latin America is becoming a fundamental player in the global energy context, since more than half of the world’s reserves are located in the countries of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. This puts us in an important geopolitical context as lithium content in the region is a key factor in ongoing energy transition strategies,” he said.
The minister stressed that Bolivia has transformed its economic structure and focused on lithium industrialization based on the fact that it has 21 million tons of certified lithium reserves only in the Salar de Uyuni (Potosí).
He confirmed that the Plurinational State has currently developed three strategic phases to exploit the evaporite resources and generate value from their commercialization: 1) Scientific research, piloting, exploitation and production of evaporite resources; 2) Technological implementation for industrial plants; and 3) industrialization of lithium.
“To date, Bolivia outlines its goals based on the Social Economic Development Plan (PDES) 2021-2025, with which it plans to achieve bicentenary as a key competitor in the lithium industry,” concluded Molina.